Procter & Gamble: Disclose and Remove Harmful Chemicals from Febreze

It’s the holiday season, and the smell of cranberry, apple and pumpkin is in the air! For those who don’t have time to bake a fresh pie, we buy an air freshener to help set the mood. But did you know that those air fresheners could impact our health and reduce our indoor air quality?

In fact, air fresheners often include many harmful chemicals – some of which are suspected carcinogens and others impact our reproductive and neuro development! Febreze says that it's "out to make the world breathe happy," but the truth is its products are making you and your family breathe in unhealthy chemicals! Febreze products include chemicals like galaxolide and phthalates, which have been linked to reproductive harm and acetaldehyde, a known carcinogen!

Procter & Gamble, makers of Febreze, relies on your holiday memories to make a profit. Febreze has a marketing campaign to "Bring Most Meaningful Holiday Scentiments to Those Away from Home" with an online video that asks, "Can the Febreze Holiday Collection evoke the memories of holidays past?" Of all the things you want to bring home this holiday, toxic chemicals are probably not at the top of your wish list!

Other companies such as SC Johnson, which also make air fresheners, have committed to disclosing ingredients in their products and removing harmful chemicals. Let’s tell Procter & Gamble to remove harmful chemicals from their products this holiday season, and protect the health of our families. That’s a gift to make us all breathe happy!

Letter to

Director of Product Safety, Procter & GambleRobert Bartolo

Chairman of the Board, Procter & GambleRobert McDonald

Multiple studies (1) have shown that Febreze air freshener products produced by Procter & Gamble contain multiple harmful chemicals such as galaxolide, which causes hormone disruption; phthalates, which have been linked to reproductive harm; acetaldehyde, a known carcinogen; and styrene, recently listed as a probable carcinogen. Your company has refused to remove these harmful products in your Febreze products, instead choosing to leave the public in the dark about the real risks they may face when using them.

Other companies such as SC Johnson have committed to disclosing the ingredients in their products and removing those that are known to be harmful. Why can’t Procter & Gamble do the same?

Your marketing campaign for Febreze states that you are "out to make the world breathe happy." And now, during the holiday season, your ads promote your line of seasonal scents by evoking "the memories of holidays past" among consumers who unwittingly breathe deeply of the harmful chemicals that your products contain.

If you sincerely want to help the world "breathe happy," you could start by disclosing all of the ingredients in your Febreze products, and committing to remove those that are known to be harmful. Doing so would increase consumer knowledge and trust in your company, and let us know that when you say, "breathe happy," you also mean, "breathe healthy."